Paddle in the wake of Kennebec River history on a 3-mile trip up to Augusta from the beautiful riverside town of Hallowell. You will be plying waters sailed on by Benedict Arnold on his 1775 journey to Quebec City, and waters gazed out over by General Winfield Scott in 1838. Scott was sent to the Augusta Arsenal to deescalate the heated border dispute between Maine and Canada.

We were guided up and down the river by dozens of sandpipers flitting along the shoreline. Eagle calls mixed with the melodic music of songbirds sifting through the dense forest canopy rising steeply above the river. Cormorants passed by in the middle of the river as we hugged the eastern shoreline to mitigate the downriver current.

The brilliant greens of early summer radiated off the placid surface of the river. Red navigational buoys strained downriver in the deeper channel far out to our left as the ebb tide strengthened. The soothing sounds of trickling water from the runoff of recent rains joined the open-air symphony.

We paddled by a number of large glacial erratic boulders perched at water’s edge on both sides of the river. These boulders have felt the wrath of the seasons for 12.000 years. We passed under tree branches 8 feet above us ensnared with dried grasses, sticks and the occasional plastic bag. It was unfathomable that this river basin could be filled with that amount of floodwater.

On the east side of the river just south of Memorial Bridge sits the imposing Kennebec Arsenal. A granite pier juts out into the river. Depending on the tide, you may be able to land in the marsh grass on the north side of the pier. The slippery slope provides just enough room to pull up your canoe.

We scampered up onto the pier and climbed up the mown banking to the Augusta Greenway Trail that follows along the river. The granite arsenal buildings on the other side of the trail are posted and off limits. The bluff is lined with maples. The lawn is inviting, and the views are dazzling; the broad sweep of river to the south, the gleaming white capitol building dome rising above the trees across the river, the striking cantilevered bridge, and the row of waterfront buildings of downtown Augusta peering over the river to the northwest. This is a special spot. Stay for awhile. If you can not land here because of high water, paddle under the bridge and land at the East Side Boat Landing and Waterfront Park. You can walk along the trail back down to the arsenal property.

The current gets much stronger north of the Memorial Bridge. We ferried our canoe over to the other side of the river to get a close-up view of the Old Augusta Post Office. Opened in 1890, this beautifully designed granite building is one of Maine’s finest examples of Romanesque revival architecture.

Despite a building southerly breeze, the ebb flow had us effortlessly back in Hallowell in under an hour. The boat launch in downtown Hallowell is a peaceful place to hang out. We sat on the grass enjoying the warmth of the sun cutting through the coolness. Folks on lunch breaks sat in their cars gazing out over the blue ribbon of water. We were all contented members of the “Fellowship of the Happy.”

Hallowell has a downtown walking trail, The Museum in the Streets, that identifies important buildings in the town’s illustrious history. The Old South Congregational Church, up a few blocks from the river, is striking, as is the Hubbard Free Library on Second Street, one of the prettiest library buildings in the state. Hallowell quarries were noted for their white granite. Their largest project was the building of the New York capitol in Albany.

Slates Bakery is a good place to energize your morning paddle with fresh baked delights. The Local Scoop Ice Cream stand is nearby, as are many restaurants with deck seating looking out over the Kennebec. No wonder the town is often called “The New Orleans of the North.” Stay long enough, and you might be contacting a local realtor.

Consult the DeLorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (map No. 12) for help in getting to the boat launch on Water Street in downtown Hallowell.

Michael Perry is the former director of the L.L.Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools, and founder of Dreams Unlimited, specializing in inspiring outdoor slide programs for civic groups, businesses and schools. Contact: michaelj_perry@comcast.net.

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